Justin Clouse
It's the best new, isometric RPG to come out in years.
Guild Wars 2 continues set itself apart by being an MMO that stresses and encourages players to adventure and tackle challenges together.
Bravely Default is a joy to play for old school JRPG fans. The music, graphics and mechanics all blend together perfectly and it continues in a already strong lineup of RPGs on the 3DS. This little handheld is becoming quite the powerhouse for these kind of games.
Bastion is an intriguing and eclectic action-heavy RPG with great audio and visuals, and it mixes some interesting mechanics with tried and true gameplay. $15 might be a little steep for some gamers given its length, but this is a game you ought to play, particularly if you care about replayability.
While the singleplayer gets upstaged by a dog, the multiplayer comes at you from so many angles that you'll inevitably find something to enjoy.
Dead Rising 3 will likely go down as one of the quintessentially "good" launch titles seen when a new console releases. It's an exclusive title with a big open world and tons of zombies that demonstrates the power of the next gen console well.
Total War: Attila brings an under-explored time period to bare to create a great setting and system of mechanics for a strategy game based more on tearing down your enemies than building up your own empire, but it's still plagued with some issues inherent to the Total War franchise.
Fire Emblem: Fates takes two steps forward and one step back for the series. It still retains and expands on many of the great Fire Emblem elements, but Fates slips on a few important aspects.
Fire Emblem: Fates takes two steps forward and one step back for the series. It still retains and expands on many of the great Fire Emblem elements, but Fates slips on a few important aspects.
It's quite possibly the best looking next-gen title. Hardcore fans will enjoy it to its full extent, but it's fairly forgiving to newcomers as well. There's just not a ton of middle ground, you'll either really love it or not be interested at all.
The Order: 1886 is bland gameplay wrapped in admittedly gorgeous next generation graphics. It's not bad through and through, it's just disappointing.
Thief is a mess. It's disappointing that there's a genuinely good game hidden under a lot of mediocrity.